Pneumatic piercing tool



y 1970 M. J. GOLDMAN 3,512,198

. PNEUMATIC PIERCING TOOL Filed May 28, 1969 FIG. 2.

FIG.3

1 INVENTOR MAURICE1GOLDMAN ATTORN YS United States Patent O 3,512,198 PNEUMATIC PIERCING TOOL Maurice J. Goldman, 382 Massapoag Ave., Sharon, Mass. 02067 Filed May 28, 1969, Ser. No. 828,675

Int. Cl. A43d /00 US. Cl. 12- -103 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A piercing tool especially useful for interconnecting FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to piercing tools and more particularly to a pneumatically operated piercing tool.

especially useful in the shoe industry for piercing and interconnecting footwear in pairs.

-' BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the retailing of footwear, there is a class of shoes which are displayed and sold in open racks generally in 7 is looped through the holes of a pair ofshoes and tied or clamped to complete the interconnection. Conventional piercing tools have not been completely satisfactory in practice since considerable manual time and effort is still involved in interconnecting the shoes and extremely many of these conventional devices require careful use to avoid operator injury.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, a piercing tool is provided which efiiciently and safely pierces confronting members of a shoe 'pair and, with a minimum of manual efiort, threads an interconnecting string through the pierced, openings. Briefly, the tool comprises a foot member rigidly attached to a housing, a snubbing member movable toward and away'from the foot to clamp the shoe materials between the snubbing member and the foot, and a needle disposed within the snubbing member and operative to move longitudinally beyond said snubbing member and through the foot to thereby pierce the shoe materials clamped therebetween.

The snubbing member is coaxially disposed within a generally cylindrical housing and a needle assembly is in turn coaxially disposed within the snubbing member. By pneumatic action, the snubbing member is caused to be driven outwardly of the housing to a forward position operative to clamp the shoe members to be pierced, the needle assembly being pneumatically driven outwardly beyond the snubbing member to pierce the shoe members clamped between confronting surfaces of the snubbing member and foot. The axial movement of the snubbing member and needle assembly are effected by means of a single drive mechanism which is operative during a first portion of a forward stroke to drive the snubbing member into a clamping position, and, during' a further portion of the forward stroke, to drive the needle outwardly of the snubbing member and through the foot. This dual 3,512,198 Patented May 19, 1970 action is accomplished by the simple manual depressronof an operating control. Upon release of the operatmg control the reverse sequence occurs causing the needle to retract into the snubbing member and the needle assembly and snubbing member to retract into the housmg. During the rearward motion of the needle a string inserted on the tip thereof is drawn back through the pierlied openings formed during the forward needle stro e.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of a piercing tool embodying the invention in its retracted position;

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation view of the piercing tool in its clamping position; and

FIG. 3 is a partly cut away sectional elevation view of the piercing tool in its forward position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The piercing tool according to the invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 and includes a generally cylindrical housing 10 having on the forward end thereof a foot 12 connected to the forward end of housing 10 and having a pair of tines 14 and 16 which define a channel therebetween which is in alignment with a needle operative to pass therethrough, as will be explained hereinbelow. A snubbing member 18 is slidably disposed within the forward end of housing 10 and a needle 20 is coaxially disposed within snubbing member 18.

A cylinder 24 is forward within housing 10' and a piston 26 is slidably disposed within cylinder 24 in gas sealing relationship therewith. First and second O-rings 28 are provided in circumferential grooves formed in the cylindrical surface of piston 26 to provide the requisite sealing. Piston 26 is provided with an opening coaxially formed therein in'which a rod 30 is disposed in coaxial relationship with the piston. Rod 30 is secured for movement with piston 26, for example, by means of a-threaded end portion 32, which passes through an opening provided in the right hand end of piston-26 and, as illustrated, a nut 34 secured to threaded portion 32. A helical :Spring 36 is provided around rod 30 the spring being dimensioned to fit within the annular space' provided between rod 30 and the inner'cor'e of piston 26. The needle 20 is secured within an opening provided axially of rod'30, the needle extending axially beyond the end of rod 30. The left hand end of rod 30 passes through an opening provided in the left portion of housing 1 0 and into a central opening provided in snubbing member 18, a helical spring 38 being provided within the central bore of member 18 and contained between the end face of rod 30 and the forward end of member 18.

'It will be evident that piston 26, along with rod 30 secured thereto, is capable of axial movement within cylinder 26, the left hand end of rod 30 being capable of slidable movement within the opening provided in member 18 causing needle 20 to extend through the tines of foot 12.

Referring to FIG. 2 the right hand end portion of housing 10 which is threaded into engagement with the central portion containing cylinder 24 includes an operating valve assembly which comprises a depressable button 40 afiixed to a valve stem 42 slidably disposed in an opening provided in the end portion of the housing and which is normally urged to an upper position by means of a spring 44 disposed between the end of stem 42 and a set screw 45 provided within the housing. An opening 44 is provided between cylinder 24 and the valve and a second opening 46 is provided between the valve and the atmosphere to provide an exhaust path for thedevice, as will be explained. The valve is illustrated in FIG. 2 in its lower or powered position wherein a section 48 of the valve stem of reduced diameter is in alignment with gas supply port 50 which extends from gas supply fitting 22 to cylinder 24. In the upper or unpowered position, reduced diameter section 48 is in alignment with the exhaust path provided by openings 44 and 46. An opening 52 is provided in the wall of housing near the unpowered end of cylinder 24 to provide an exhaust path for gas contained within this space which is compressed as the piston 26 moves during a powered stroke.

In operation, the gas supply fitting 22 of the present device is connected to a source of suitable pressurized gas, typically compressed air, and the tines 14 and 16 of foot 12 are placed against one surface of the materials 54 to be pierced. Operating button 40 is depressed causing pressurized gas to be admitted into cylinder 24 causing forward travel of piston 26 against the urging of spring 36 and a corresponding movement of rod 30' within the bore of snubbing member 18. According to the principles of this invention, the stiffness of helical spring 38 is greater than the stiffness of helical spring 36 such that forward motion of rod 30 against spring 38 causes forward motion of member 18 within housing 10 to a position in contact with the materials 54 to be pierced, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Further forward movement of piston 26 causes spring 38 to be compressed by the force of the forwardly moving rod 30, causing needle 20 to be driven beyond the extremity of member 18 and through materials 54, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Thus, in one continuous forward motion, the work is initially clamped those versed in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention.- Accordingly,

and then pierced by means of the novel device. A string I or other tie member can be looped around the barb 56 provided in the distal end of needle 20 in order to thread the string back through the pierced openings as the needle is retracted into the tool during return motion of the piston. In order to withdraw needle 20- from the materials which have been pierced, operating button 40* is released causing compressed gas within cylinder 24 to be exhausted to the atmosphere by means of the exhaust path provided by openings 44 and 46, permitting piston 26 to be returned to its initial position within the cylinder by the urging of spring 46. Rod 30 is similarly withdrawn from its forward position within snubbing member 18, the spring 38 expanding to its uncompressed configuration, as in FIG. 2, and member 18 then being withdrawn into housing 10 to the unpowered position shown in FIG. 1.

It will be appreciated that the present invention provides a simple and extremely effective tool for the piercing of shoe or other materials, with a minimum of manual eifort and in an extremely safe manner. Various modifications and alternative implementations will now occur to the invention is not to be limited by what has been particularly shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. A piercing tool comprising an elongated housing having a foot rigidly attached to one end thereof;

a snubbing member slidably disposed in said housing and adapted for longitudinal movement into clampingengagement with said foot;

a needle assembly including a needle slidably disposed within said snubbing member and successively operative to urge said member into clamping engagement with said foot and to urge said needle outward of said snubbing member and through said foot; and

pneumatic means operative to actuate said needle assembly.

2. A piercing tool according to claim 1 wherein said foot includes an opening in alignment with said needle, and said snubbing member and needle assembly are coaxially arranged and movable with respect to each other.

3. A piercing tool according to claim 2 wherein said pneumatic means includes:

a piston longitudinally movable within said housing;

a rod connected to said piston and movable therewith;

first spring means coupling said rod to said snubbing rember;

second spring means coupling said piston to said housing; and

a valve assembly for introducing pressurized gas into said housing to operate said piston.

4. A piercing tool according to claim 2 wherein said pneumatic means includes:

a piston lengitudinally movable within said housing;

a rod coaxial with said piston and connected at one end thereto, the other end ,of said rod being coupled to said snubbing member by a first spring;

a second spring disposed between said piston and said housing and adapted to urge said piston to a rest position in the absence of gas pressure; I

said first spring being successively operative during powered motion of said piston to permit movement of said snubbing member into clamping engagement with said foot and to permit movement of said needle through said foot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,631,311 3/1953 Malgrozos 1Z103 2,873,900 2/ 1959 Jackson 223-404 3,435,789 4/ 1969 Kuramochi 112-169 PATRICK D. LAWSGN, Primary Examiner 

